Capricorn-Cancer: The Creation of Heaven on Earth, Part I

It’s Saturn-day and Christmas Eve. What could be more fitting than this marvellous treatment by Ruth of Capricorn in Soul Astrology? Indeed, Saturn – Capricorn’s planetary ruler in Western astrology – was more of a “Santa Claus” for the ancient Romans than Jupiter, the planet we associate with abundance and joy. The Roman Saturnalia, celebrated at the winter solstice, even included gift-giving and parades.

On that note, I turn you over to Ruth’s excellent post, with best holiday wishes, no matter what spiritual tradition you follow. ~Pat.

Capricorn is the great resource manager of the Zodiac. The sign of Capricorn is associated with business, accounting, banking, finance, governance, authority, ambition and achievement through practical, diligent, precise and methodical application of one’s energy. One could be forgiven for thinking that the sign of Capricorn is the most practical, down-to-Earth sign of them all. This is quite true and, at one and the same time, it is also the most mysterious and esoteric sign, because the true mysteries of Capricorn remain deeply hidden. Welcome to the enigmatic world of Capricorn.

“The light of life must now shine forth within a world of dark”1
~ Alice A. Bailey

The Tibetan2 tells us that Capricorn is the least understood of all the Zodiac signs, because humanity does not yet have the consciousness to comprehend its true meaning at this stage of our evolution. He also explains how the true symbol for Capricorn has never been drawn because of its power: it is the signature of God. According to the Tibetan, Capricorn is the sign of Christ Consciousness.

Does this mean that every Capricorn we meet has the spiritual awareness of Christ? Of course not. However, there is a clue to the deeper mysteries of Capricorn in the idea that Capricorn is at the same time associated with both the consciousness of Christ and the material world. In our spiritual development, Capricorn is where we learn to use spiritual resources and deeply imbue physical matter with spiritual energy.

Capricorn season is the time of year when the Northern Hemisphere of Earth is farthest from the Sun. Winter Solstice is a time when northern cultures traditionally held major festivals to celebrate the return of the light. It is no accident that the birth of Christ is also celebrated at this time and was heralded by a bright star.

Capricorn is the farthest point into matter that light has travelled thus far. So our Capricorn friends can be forgiven if they seem deeply rooted in the concrete material world – they are – and yet they have whole universes to bridge with their light.

Hidden deep within the mysteries of Capricorn are vast, undiscovered, metaphysical sciences. Sacred arts, including sacred geometry and alchemy are just the tip of the iceberg. Capricorn is the sign of precision engineering, and while many Capricorns do indeed use their innate knowledge of physical matter to engineer the physical realm, the highest octave of Capricorn involves engineering light. Capricorn is here to utilize spiritual resources to build heaven on Earth and beyond! But Capricorn can never access this highest potential with her nose stuck in an accounting book.

Many spiritual traditions consider those who only believe what their eyes can see to have limited capacity for spiritual development.3 This is the ego trap of Capricorn: becoming so deeply focused on concrete, tangible results that she forgets to acknowledge the deepest wisdom of her other senses. Capricorn needs to acknowledge all her sense perceptions if she is to awaken not only to higher awareness, but to higher skill and capacity as an engineer of light, masterfully utilizing spiritual resources for the benefit of all sentient beings. In order to realize her higher mind, potential, and greatest capacity, Capricorn needs the multisensory capability of her polar opposite, Cancer.

Whereas Cancer embodies empathy and emotional intelligence at the personality level, our Capricorn friend has the unfortunate reputation of sometimes being the most ruthless sign of all. It is as though, in her diligent focus on getting through the business of the day, she is able to take into account and audit all the tangibles of a situation, while forgetting the very reason why resources need to be managed in the first place: to ensure that all creatures have opportunities for growth. A fully integrated Capricorn senses what will be needed by all, takes everything into account, and with great care, respect and compassion, moves mountains to make sure all needs are covered.

Cardinal energy is the pioneering energy of creation that initiates change and ushers in new ways of being and doing. Earth signs are all about mastery of the physical. So, as the cardinal earth sign, Capricorn is all about creating new ways of mastering our physical realm – how we utilize our energy and physical resources for the highest good. It is no accident that the cardinal earth sign is associated with governance and authority.

At the moment, we are experiencing a transit of Pluto through Capricorn, which began in November 2008 and lasts until 2023. These are very important times we are living through. Many of the political and governmental upheavals that we are experiencing are a result of the transformational energy of Pluto being in the sign of Capricorn. Pluto is known as the great revealer. It breaks down old systems that are no longer working and reveals that which is hidden by bringing it to the light for healing.

Pluto is revealing to us where we have created governmental and financial systems from a low-vibration Capricorn perspective, which was so off balance that it became possible for us to “use and abuse” Earth’s resources ruthlessly for personal gain. During this transit, we have the opportunity to transform by accessing the highest octave of Capricorn, which pioneers new ways of sharing and relating to Earth’s resources by bringing in the compassionate energy of her polar opposite, Cancer.

The healing and balancing of the Capricorn-Cancer polarity is what we are currently experiencing. The Pluto-Capricorn transit is calling us up to heighten our awareness and to access the highest octave of Capricorn for the good of all. At the end of this transit, Capricorn-Cancer will have created new ways of being in the world that honor, respect, and nurture all sentient beings, ensuring everything is taken into account (including the needs of the Earth herself) to build healthy, harmonious, sustainable futures for Mother Earth and all her creatures.

In Part 2, we go deeper into Capricorn’s Soul journey and explore her significance as a custodian of the Earth.

all of these references to capricorn and money don’t vibe with me. i like Gilly170, am capricorn to the 5th power (ascendant/jupiter/neptune/ conjunction + mercury and venus)

its got to be the neptune/jupiter conjunction. i’ve never cared anything about money. to top it off, my sun is in the 2nd house… in all these years of studying and practicing as an astrologer, i still am uncovering mysteries.

i’ve always thought of the can/cap axis as one of long term security vs short term security. saturn being the underlying structure of a thing, and cancer being the overlying.